Kelsey and Tyler grew up mere miles apart in Gresham, Oregon, however, their paths would not cross until middle school band where Kelsey was a star clarinet player and Tyler simply held a clarinet while sitting in class. They interacted infrequently during middle school and well into high school.

While they had very similar classes in high school, their social circles rarely interacted. This all changed when they had Honors Gov/AP Macroeconomics their Junior year. Tyler and Kelsey started talking and Tyler was emboldened to ask her to prom... as long as Marshall asked Laura to do the same. Tyler did not (Donut) want to go alone to the dance, so Kelsey accompanied him to the prom their Junior year.

After prom, Kelsey and Tyler continued talking throughout the summer spending many hours driving through the Columbia River Gorge and hiking on Mt. Hood. As the summer progressed, the two infatuated teens started dating on 07.20.2016. After that summer, their high school careers looked remarkably different than before, from having similar classes but never talking, to now sitting next to each other in class and working on group assignments together.

As high school came to an end, both kids decided to continue their education at a university. Kelsey chose Washington State for their business program, and Tyler chose the University of Idaho for their engineering program. While at school, Tyler studied Biomedical Engineering and Kelsey studied Accounting and Spanish. They enjoyed spending time making new friends, attending football games, and getting involved with the Pullman Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) puppy club. The decision to volunteer with Pullman's GDB club would lead to many big life changes, including Kelsey's choice to help raise a yellow lab puppy-in-training named Rubina and a joint decision to adopt not one, but two GDB dogs later on.

The kids continued going to college and working close to home in the summers. Tyler was a wildland firefighter on Mt. Hood for five summers, and Kelsey worked different administrative jobs including an internship at her current employer. They spent every summer looking forward to the rare occasion the two could drive through the Columbia River Gorge together reminiscing about the time they spent getting to know one another as they travelled those same roads. These lives changed suddenly in March 2020 (Spring Break) when the beginning of the COVID surge nearly stranded the kids in Mexico with Tyler's parents - a true test of their unified fight or flight response.

The following school year, the two tried to make the most of their college senior experiences and day-dreamed a lot about what the future could look like for them. After college graduation, Tyler and Kelsey began their "Big Kid" jobs and shortly after, a friend from the Pullman GDB Club offered them a wonderful opportunity to rehome a spunky black lab retired guide dog named Kappa; this choice would prove to be a hairy one. A few months later, Kelsey and Tyler purchased their first home, which was within miles of both of their childhood homes. After moving into their new abode, the kids decided to foster GDB puppies-in-training where they were eventually offered the opportunity to adopt a lively career-changed yellow lab named Cindy; this decision proved to be an even hairier one. Both sets of grand-paw-rents have grown to love their furry grandchildren.

In June 2023, Tyler crafted an elaborate front to get Kelsey to one of the spots in the Columbia River Gorge they liked to visit all of those summers ago. He popped the question and surprised her with her favorite people and even better - a RING! They look forward to celebrating the union of their love surrounded by friends and family on their eighth anniversary.

In short - yes, they got a dog - Kappa (June 2022), a house (August 2022), engaged (June 2023), another dog - Cindy (September 2023) and married (July 2024) with no plans for kids anytime soon. Thank you for asking.